儿 ér son

源How it came to be

The full form is a child with the soft spot in the skull still open, a gap at the top over two legs. Simplified, only the legs stay.

用How it is used

• Two jobs. As a noun it means son/child - 儿子 (érzi) son, 女儿 (nǚ'ér) daughter.
• Far more often it's the 'erhua' suffix that softens a syllable, written 儿 and pronounced as an -r coloring on the vowel: 这儿 (zhèr) here, 一点儿 (yìdiǎnr) a bit, 好玩儿 (hǎowánr) fun.
• Erhua is heaviest in northern/Beijing speech; southern speakers often drop it, and formal writing usually omits it.

字Characters built with 儿

• 先 first
• 洗 wash
• 选 to select
• 境 boundary
• 克 gram
• 况 situation
• 竟 finally
• 竞 to compete
• 镜 mirror
• 允 to grant
• 祝 to wish
• 兄 older brother
• 党 political party
• 兢 fearful
• 宪 constitution

词Words with 儿

• 儿子érzisonHSK 1
• 哪儿nǎ'erwhereHSK 1
• 女儿nǚ'érdaughterHSK 1
• 一点儿yīdiǎnera littleHSK 1
• 好玩儿hǎowánrfun; enjoyable (spoken, erhua)HSK 1
• 这儿zhèrhereHSK 1
• 那儿nàrthereHSK 1
• 面条儿miàntiáornoodles (spoken, erhua)HSK 1
• 有点儿yǒudiǎnrslightlyHSK 1
• 一会儿yíhuìra whileHSK 2
• 女孩儿nǚháirgirl (spoken, erhua)HSK 2
• 小孩儿xiǎoháirchild; kid (spoken, erhua)HSK 2
• 男孩儿nánháirboy (spoken, erhua)HSK 2
• 一块儿yíkuàirtogether; in the same place (spoken, erhua)HSK 3
• 聊天儿liáotiānrto chat (spoken, erhua)HSK 3
• 儿童értóngchildHSK 4
• 干活儿gànhuórto work; to do manual labour (spoken, erhua)HSK 4
• 差点儿chàdiǎnralmostHSK 4
• 儿女érnǚchildrenHSK 5
• 幼儿园yòu’éryuánkindergartenHSK 5
• 没法儿méifǎrcan't do anything about itHSK 5
• 儿科érkēpediatricsHSK 6
• 大伙儿dàhuǒreverybody; all of us (spoken, erhua)HSK 6
• 婴儿yīng’érinfantHSK 6
• 小偷儿xiǎotōurthief (spoken, erhua)HSK 6
• 少儿shào’érchildHSK 6
• 模特儿mótèrmodel (loanword)HSK 6
• 个头儿gètóursizeHSK 7
• 心眼儿xīnyǎnrone's thoughtsHSK 7
• 没准儿méizhǔnrmaybe; perhaps; not sure (spoken, erhua)HSK 7
• 玩意儿wányìrthing; gadget; plaything (spoken, erhua)HSK 7
• 人缘儿rényuánrrelations with others; popularity (spoken, erhua)HSK 8
• 冰棍儿bīnggùnrice lollyHSK 8
• 口哨儿kǒushàorwhistle (sound made by pursing the lips)HSK 8
• 孤儿gū’érorphanHSK 8
• 打盹儿dǎdǔnrto doze off; to take a nap (spoken, erhua)HSK 8
• 离谱儿lípǔrerhua form of 离谱HSK 9
• 纳闷儿nàmènrto be puzzled; to feel perplexed (spoken, erhua)HSK 9
• 绕远儿ràoyuǎnrto go the long way roundHSK 9
• 老伴儿lǎobànr(one's) spouse in old age; life companion (spoken, erhua)HSK 9

句Example sentences

• 这里是哪儿？ Zhèli shì nǎr?Where are we?
• 她是我的女儿。 Tā shì wǒ de nǚ'ér.She's my daughter.
• 他是我的儿子。 Tā shì wǒ de érzi.He's my son.
• 我只有一点儿钱。 Wǒ zhǐ yǒu yìdiǎnr qián.I only have a little money.